Police Officer Involved in Collision on US 117 Alt. in Wayne County, North Carolina (NC)

WAYNE COUNTY, NC- Goldsborodailynews.com writes that a crash occurred this week in Wayne County that involved a police car and an SUV. The wreck took place at US 117 Alternate and Outlaw Road in the evening. At the time of the incident, reports state that there was a thunderstorm.*

The officer was reportedly heading northbound, and the SUV was traveling northbound when the two vehicles struck one another. The impact caused the officer to be stuck in his vehicle. Responders extracted the deputy and transported him to the hospital. The North Carolina Highway Patrol is carrying out the investigation. 

Weather can make for dangerous driving. According to the Federal Highway Administration, greater than one in five crashes each year are the result of bad weather. That means that annually, 1,235,000 crashes are caused by inclement weather. Rain, snow, sleet, ice, and wind are some of the common weather conditions that can lead to crashes. These incidents kill about 5,000 people annually and injure about 418,000 more. 

Rain is the biggest contributing factor in crashes and leads to more collisions than any other weather category. About 70 percent of bad weather car accidents take place on wet pavement. 

Weather-related car crashes kill far more people every year than do dramatic weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods. In fact, these weather events combined do not approach the number of fatalities caused by weather-related vehicle accidents. 

In addition to slippery roads caused by water or ice, visibility is often impacted by weather conditions. Fog, rain, and snow can all lead to an inability to see the road ahead. In some instances, visibility will be reduced to just a few feet in front of the car. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://www.goldsborodailynews.com/2020/07/21/deputy-involved-in-crash-on-u-s-117-alt-photo-gallery/

https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/q1_roadimpact.htm

https://weather.com/safety/winter/news/weather-fatalities-car-crashes-accidents-united-states